Afonso IV of Portugal

Afonso IV "the Brave" of Portugal (8 February 1291-28 May 1357) was the King of Portugal from 7 January 1325 to 28 May 1357, succeeding Denis of Portugal and preceding Pedro I of Portugal.

Biography
Afonso was born on 8 February 1291 to King Denis of Portugal and Queen Elizabeth of Aragon, and he was from the Catholic Portuguese House of Burgundy. Denis preferred his illegitimate son Afonso Sanches, leading to civil wars between the two half-brothers. In 1325, when Denis died, Afonso became the new king and exiled Sanches to Castile, getting rid of his enemy. Afonso Sanches failed at invasion several times, and Queen Elizabeth eventually organized a peace treaty between them. During the third year of his reign, Afonso married his daughter Maria of Portugal to Alfonso XI of Castile, gaining an important ally in the Reconquista. Maria was abused by King Alfonso, who relegated her to a monastery in Seville while he focused on his mistress Leonor de Guzman. Afonso threatened to invade Castile, forcing Alfonso to imprison his mistress and rekindle his relationship with Maria. This move allowed for the alliance to continue, and the Portuguese and Castilians both invaded the Emirate of Granada in 1337 and in 1340, winning the Battle of Rio Salado against the Muslims.

After the death of Alfonso in 1350, Castile was torn apart by civil war, with Henrique de Trastamara challenging the rule of Alfonso's son Peter of Castile in alliance with Maria of Portugal, the king's own mother. The aging Afonso lost control of his court as the spillover of the conflict entered Portugal, and he had his son Pedro's wife Ines de Castro imprisoned at a convent in Coimbra before having her murdered in 1355, hoping to limit Castile's power in Portugal. Pedro was shocked at the decapitation of his informal wife in front of their child, and he betrayed Afonso's wishes of him marrying a princess, instead rebelling against his father. Pedro eventually reconciled to his father, but Afonso died soon after in 1357.